Friday Vocabulary

1. bema — platform for public speaking, esp. in ancient Athens

Heady though it must have been to ascend to the bema, a new-formed philosopher assumed great responsibility when promulgating his doctrine, as the several prosecutions (and many more accusations) for corrupting the Athenian youth indicate.

  2. prodromal — premonitory (symptom)

The sufferer of oral herpes may experience a prodromal itching or tingling at the location where the lesions will appear.

  3. baize — woolen fabric with long nap, usu. green, resembling felt, frequently seen covering billiard tables

What I had initially taken to be a desk blotter was actually an inlaid baize band apparently used by Sir Roberts to better organize the documents he examined for signs of forgery.

  4. papule — small pointed swelling of the skin

The small dots seen as the first signs of chicken pox quickly develop into papules which will then support a clear vesicle at their center.

  5. mantissa — decimal part of logarithm; (obs.) small part or addition of little importance

A particular set of digits will all have the same mantissa regardless of where the decimal point is placed within that set of digits.

  6. selvage — finishing of woven material so that the edge will not unravel

The quality of selvage denim is greater than the non-selvage variety, due in part to the tighter weaves used in producing the former.

  7. teleology — the study of ultimate ends or causes

Most creationist texts exhibit a manifest projection of anthromorphized teleology upon the universe in general and biology in particular.

  8. colporteur — hawker or seller of books

The 19th-century colporteur evolved from a peddler of bibles to become an underworld vendor of French postcards and (in the next century) Tijuana Bibles.

  9. logorrhea — incessant loquacity; pathological talkativeness

We withstood the offensive flood of his painful logorrhea as long as we could, but eventually we had to simply take our leave — without, of course, getting a word in edgewise, for there was no space between his.

  10. antipyretic — tending to reduce fever

I gave her acetaminophen for its antipyretic effect, but you should stay with her tonight in case she suffers further acute intestinal distress.

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